· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Observatories Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | (show all) Jack Huerkamp Vendor - Waning Moon Reged: 10/13/05 Loc: Louisiana Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5517426 - 11/13/12 08:35 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Tom, I just stumbled onto the Observatory form of CN and have been reading this thread. Having looked through your 42" in its old dome at CAV, I hope to one day get to your new location as I am sure the skies there are much better than the ones in Florida. Jack Huerkamp Post Extras:       ZRX-Steve sage Reged: 03/31/08 Loc: Phoenix, Arizona Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Jack Huerkamp]       #5521621 - 11/15/12 05:41 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That gives new meaning to the term "mini"van. Wonderful work Tom. I'm in the Saguaro Astronomy club and hope to see your dome in person someday. Steve Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: ZRX-Steve]       #5522014 - 11/15/12 10:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Jack, Look forward to your visit. I have four RV hookups in the front yard for friends. Scope will be operational in a couple of months. Steve, We will coordinate with Steve Coe and have your club over for observing before too long. Steve will be here in a month or so. Post Extras:       Jack Huerkamp Vendor - Waning Moon Reged: 10/13/05 Loc: Louisiana Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5522452 - 11/16/12 08:46 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Tom, I look forward to doing so. I will be retiring next October and hope to travel more. Jack Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5528977 - 11/19/12 10:25 PM Attachment (109 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   We are now into 3.5 months of construction, and well into the hardest part of building a wooden dome - fiberglassing the dome. Of course you do not have to use fiberglass, but if you wish to build a dome that will last for many years, it is a good way to go. First we painted raw wood with polyester resin, and now are adding the glass cloth. A third coat of resin will be added when all the cloth is up. The final step will be painting with primer, and then a final color coat, so the walls and roof will match, and the whole observatory color will match house and barn. The tan color goes well with the desert surroundings. The dimensions of the dome are 24' in diameter. The walls are 6' high, and the dome itself is 12'6" above the walls. A lot of time is spent on the scaffold and on a 24' extension ladder. The last steps still to go are adding the sliding shutter, then the walls, and we will be nearly finished. It's just my wife Jeannie and I doing the fiberglass, and we are working mainly when the wind is not too high and the weather is nice. With a big crew the work could be done much faster. Edited by Tom Clark (11/20/12 07:53 AM) Post Extras:       EddWen scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 04/26/08 Loc: Here or There Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5529944 - 11/20/12 11:47 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I'm far from an expert with regard to fiberglass and resins, but do have friends who home-build experimental airplanes. They frequently debate whether they need a UV protectant between the primer and finish coat (vs added weight). I don't know what altitude you are at, but it might be a consideration for a longer life of the dome. Post Extras:       Tim Gilliland professor emeritus Reged: 03/28/09 Loc: Sand Springs Okla. Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: EddWen]       #5530001 - 11/20/12 12:11 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I enjoy seeing this progress, It is so impressive! An Amature Astronomer's dream. Post Extras:       David Johns sage Reged: 03/26/07 Loc: Queensland, Australia Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tim Gilliland]       #5535833 - 11/23/12 04:29 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Fantastic.... Post Extras:       Dr Morbius Post Laureate Reged: 02/06/07 Loc: ManorvilleNY-but not for long Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: David Johns]       #5554267 - 12/04/12 04:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Any new updates? Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Dr Morbius]       #5554306 - 12/04/12 05:15 PM Attachment (77 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Well, I am only 66, but feel much older after Jeannie and I finished fiberglassing the dome. Well, actually, it is not all done. Next project is to close up the back and fiberglass it, then build the shutter. However, I started another thread looking for info on finding the long gear needed to open and close the shutter. I may have to look into using a chain drive… Took a short trip over to the Arizona Sky Village to visit old friends Jack and Alice Newton, to see how Jack builds his shutters and motorizes them. A project this size requires as much brain work as manual labor! Edited by Tom Clark (12/04/12 05:19 PM) Post Extras:       David Pavlich Transmographied Reged: 05/18/05 Loc: Mandeville, LA USA Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5554759 - 12/04/12 10:19 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Terrific work, Tom! Gonna' be a masterpiece when completed. David Post Extras:       Baxstar member Reged: 09/15/12 Loc: The Netherland Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: David Pavlich]       #5555812 - 12/05/12 03:00 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   It's already a masterpiece! Even unfinished! Casper Post Extras:       Norm Meyer member Reged: 02/08/09 Loc: Warren, ME 04864 Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Baxstar]       #5558012 - 12/06/12 06:10 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Tom, I just finished reading this thread on your 24' dome. It is amazing, beautiful work. I envy your location and this new observatory taking shape. I'm up here in Maine and our climate conditions are a complete antithesis to NM.We probably have 4 or 5 days a year of very good seeing. Good luck on finishing your project. Completely covetous. Norm Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Norm Meyer]       #5558877 - 12/07/12 09:14 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey Everyone, Don't just be envious, it would be a lot more fun to come join us and live the astronomy dream. There is room for another 50 or so astronomy families here at the New Mexico Astronomy Village. It's growing quickly. You don't have to stay where you are. Jeannie and I ran away from Ohio and moved to Florida 40 years ago. This last move across the country to NM was a bit of work, but we are sure glad we have made it. While we read about star parties back east being clouded out, I almost hate to tell old friends that we have had two cloudy nights in the last 6 or 8 weeks. See the first post in this thread for lots more information on the NMAV. Dome progress? More photos to be posted soon. Now closing up the back and working on building the roll-back shutter, since I finally found the hardware I was looking for to motorize the shutter. Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5561209 - 12/08/12 05:04 PM Attachment (80 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The last few days were spent closing in the back side of the dome, under where the shutter will roll back. It looks strange in this photo, but next it will be fiberglassed and primed. The whole observatory will not be left white, but rather painted to match the shop and house. The tan color is well suited to the desert - it blends in rather than standing out like the stark white. Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5561222 - 12/08/12 05:10 PM Attachment (66 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The whole inside of the observatory will be spray painted flat black. The last dome in Florida was black, and everyone always commented on how inside the dome was the darkest place they had ever been. The only lights are starlight and the dim red indirect lighting around the floor. Post Extras:       Retsub member Reged: 12/08/06 Loc: Houston,Tx. Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5563081 - 12/09/12 08:17 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Looking at your dome drive wheels, they look like they would be a harder urethane than maybe 80-85A hardness ? Bet not many of your neighbors in NM have a spare wheel from a brush hog to use if you needed one ! Thanks. *BW* Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5574304 - 12/16/12 03:04 PM Attachment (50 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The old bush hog tire worked just fine for 12 years, and is still working for the new owner. It did slip in one place when you wanted to go counter-clockwise, so that is why this time two wheels were used. No idea how hard the plastic is, but they have a capacity of 750 pounds each, so they seem pretty tough, and they work very well. Still working even though winter is here. All the outside fiberglassing is finished. Building the shutter doors inside the shop, and will be putting up the steel walls and doing the final painting soon. The shutter will be fiberglassed inside the shop. By the way, most winter days here are in the 60s during the day, and 30 at night. However, the sun makes 60 feel very nice unless the wind happens to be blowing hard - and it does that now and then. Post Extras:       Mirzam Post Laureate Reged: 04/01/08 Loc: Lovettsville, VA Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Tom Clark]       #5574575 - 12/16/12 06:06 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   NOw that's a big shutter! Did you overlap smaller sections of plywood to make the larger arcs? JimC Post Extras:       Tom Clark professor emeritus Reged: 11/14/07 Loc: North of Deming, NM Re: Building a 24' Dome [Re: Mirzam]       #5575423 - 12/17/12 09:26 AM Attachment (35 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Since plywood only comes in 8' sheets, the curved parts are band sawn and then laminated into the arcs with glue and a nail gun. All the curved parts for this 24' dome were sawn in about four days. Total cost for the plywood ribs was around $1,000. . Even if you had to purchase a band saw first, the cost of building your own observatory is a tiny fraction of purchasing a commercial dome. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | (show all) Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 10 registered and 16 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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